Mix Tape: News from the North
Chris Godsey reports on the doings of Duluth-area musicians.
Cloud Cult is touring all summer! Check out dates at www.cloudcult.com or www.myspace.com/cloudcult
Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank, featuring Teague and Ian Alexy, will spend the summer at festivals across the Midwest, including Green Man, the 10,000 Lakes Festival in Detroit Lakes, and the Feel Good Festival in Amherst, Wisconsin. Teague Alexy and Medication will play the Logjam Festival, hosted by the White Iron Band and Trampled by Turtles in Geneva, Minnesota.
Funk masters Boku Frequency released their new CD Fancy Dancer . They’ll play regular gigs all summer at the Red Lion bar on Superior Street.
Gus Watkins has a new CD: An Easy Thing to Remember. Contact him at guswatkins@guswatkins.com.
Piedmont blues connoisseur and gospel spreader Charlie Parr recorded a live CD at Fitger’s Brewhouse on July 11, 12, and 13. As usual, he’s busting his ass with a bunch of other stuff, including recording soundtrack music for Pedal to the Midnight Sun, touring in the U.S. and the U.K. He’ll play the End of the Road Festival, close to Stonehenge, in September (head to the website and you just might hear Charlie singing “Reverend’s Eviction Blues”). His music has been included on a Rough Trade songwriters compilation with tunes from Tom Waits, P.J. Harvey, Vic Chestnutt, Cat Power, Adrian Crowley, Will Oldham, and others.
Check out David Hopkins’ new Web site: www.artbeats.org. His goal? “To become a comprehensive reference site for the arts and artists of western Lake Superior. The concept is to provide information that helps art thrive in the community.” See Hopkins’ writing on mnartists.org as well.
Prominent folk singer Bill Isles has been writing and recording a new CD titled The Shores of My Hometown at a secluded northern Minnesota cabin that he built with his own two hands (and some help). Guest players include Canadian master fiddler April Verch, bassist Gordy Johnson (who has played on several Greg Brown CDs, and who spent seven years with Chuck Mangione), percussionist Marc Anderson, cellist Michelle Kinney (who’s played with Natalie Merchant and Sheryl Crow), and local mandolin legend Ted Heinonen. His planned release date is September 6.